1. Field:
The invention relates to picking up and transporting large bales of material, such as large, cylindrically shaped bales of hay, and to apparatus for accomplishing same.
2. State of the Art:
Numerous apparatus have been proposed and used for handling large bales of material. Generally, the apparatus is used in combination with fork lift trucks or the like, and have been used mainly in warehouses. Representative devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,334,762; 3,876,093; and 3,929,366.
With the recent development of farm equipment for producing large, cylindrical shaped bales of hay, various apparatus have been designed for transporting and handling the large bales of hay. In an earlier patent issued to me, i.e., U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,069, I disclosed apparatus having a tilt frame and a pair of rearward extending bale clamping members pivotally attached to the tilt frame. Means was provided for swinging the bale clamping means into engagement with the ends of a bale of hay and then tilting the otherwise vertical tilt frame forward so as to lift the bale of hay from the ground. Other devices for handling large bales of hay are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,877,595; 3,944,095; 4,072,241; 4,089,425; 4,113,116; and 4,138,159.